Reid and Kerry face off behind closed doors.

[Pepperbelly]

-snip-

“We’re living in the post-Jeff Gannon era where the left can finally show we know how to fight back and hold the media accountable,” the strategist told RAW STORY. “The right wing spent 30 years telling America about the liberal media, it’s time Democrats found the courage to set the record straight.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=152

-snip-

Kerry was unhappy with the posture of the Democrats and told Reid that they needed to be far more aggressive in fighting President Bush, needed to set up what amounted to a perpetual campaign and needed a plan to prevent Bush from seizing the middle ground in the Social Security fight.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10395-2005Mar5.html?nav=rss_politics

[stray cat]

1. Kerry learned alot about repub tactics from his campaign

[CalifSherry]

2. And given how much we already knew

maybe there was a better place to learn than in the middle of a campaign. I'm just sayin'.

[stray cat]

3. Absolutely true - Kerry and the democrats were forwarned.

Welcome to DU - definitely we knew the repub tactics before the campaign. We should have been better prepared.

[babylonsister]

8. If your statement is true, why didn't we as a

party realize the repugs would play dirty during the election, RE: fraud? Why are these election reform bills being floated now and not 4 years ago? Absolutely not an attack, but I'm puzzled daily that 2 elections in a row were stolen, and no one apparently had any inkling this could happen. :shrug:

[cestpaspossible]

4. Dan Balz is our enemy.

He can't be trusted, he is a liar, and any report that includes lines like

"The most extensive account of the exchange noted that... but two other sources say that did not occur."

would never have made it past a real editor.

[ClassWarrior]

5. Reid hasn't been exactly a pussycat lately...

...so if JK's been telling him to ramp it up even more, that's an awesome sign!

NGU.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

9. wished kerry ramped it up during the whole debacle with OHIO

he conceded and let the base down

[ClassWarrior]

10. I hear ya. But hindsight's always 20/20. I'm just glad he keeps getting...

...smarter and smarter. We Dems are learning... and sometimes that takes time... but we're moving in the right direction.

I'm impatient too, but more importantly, I'm hopeful. And that feels good, at long last.

NGU.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

11. what do you mean hindsight o_O

John Edwards said that he and kerry will keep on fighting...but after of couple of days they conceeded. Sounds more like back stabbing to me

[ClassWarrior]

12. There's no WAY you or I could understand where his head was at...

...at that point. Unless of course you've run a general election campaign for POTUS...

NGU.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

14. hmmm well if you use THAT logic

then you could that about Bush when he made the decision to go to Iraq. Unless of course you're privy to Bush's counsel.

[ClassWarrior]

15. I just think we need to practice Progressive understanding toward...

...our own, rather than going right to the Radical RW's tactic of name calling. And we need to re-learn how to recognize hope for the future, rather than dwelling on our bitterness over the past.

Believe me, I wanted Kerry to stand and fight that gut-wrenching election fraud as much as anyone here. But I'm not going to throw a good man to the sharks just because he made a bad decision. And especially not now that he's moving in the right direction.

NGU.

[TheWatcher]

31. Or his "Counselor."

[FreedomAngel82]

38. Aren't they still

jumping in too? I know Mr. Pitt posted an article not long ago of Kerry and Edwards jumping in on a court filing.

[FreedomAngel82]

37. I agree

At least we're learning from mistakes and going forward instead of backwards like the right. :eyes: I'm happy about this. At least they're doing something with Gannon/Guckert!

[NVMojo]

21. don't you all remember when Kerry was caught on speaker mumbling

about how evil the Repub leaders in this administration were? It was at the beginning of his campaign. He knew.

[FreedomAngel82]

39. Of course he knew

I'm sure he's been following them. Since he is an investigator. Does anybody have that audio? I'd like to hear.

[politicasista]

41. You're just mad cause your man didn't win.

:cry: :cry:

[blm]

30. Story sez the meeting was 2 weeks ago, so they're just getting started.

Of course, this could also be a way to make the Dems sound more divided. You never know with the Bushmoonie Post.

[sendero]

32. Another way to look at it would be..

... Reid has already shown more spine in two months than Kerry did his entire campaign.

Sorry, I'm not sure I buy this story. The only way is it true is if JK has had a major change of heart since the election.

We'll see.

[umtalal]

6. the WP piece said that Reid shot down Kerry. WTF?

[Catamount]

7. It's good to know that Kerry is acting on our behalf behind the scenes!

:kick:

[dolstein]

13. Considering how inept and politically tone deaf Kerry is

I derive absolutely no comfort from Kerry's desire to micomanage the Democratic Party.

[ClassWarrior]

16. Yeah, that's why you're the war hero, millionaire, and veteran Senator...

...and he's the schlub picking his navel in front of the computer monitor.

<LOL>

NGU.

[dolstein]

17. I've worked hard for my money -- I didn't marry into wealth

And if being a war hero was all it took to get elected president, George McGovern would have won in a landslide and Bill Clinton would never have beaten George H.W. Bush.

The fact that the Kerry campaign spent a disproportionate amount of time talking about things he did halfway around the globe four decades ago, and virtually no time talking about the things he's done in Washington for the past twenty years tells you pretty much everything you need to know about why Kerry lost. Kerry the solider displayed courage, boldness and decisiveness in Vietnam. Kerry the candidate displayed none of those qualities on the campaign trail. Sorry, but sometimes the truth just hurts. Get over it.

[ClassWarrior]

18. You have some good points - too bad they're obscured by...

...your bitter attitude.

And by the way, you didn't say anything about getting "elected President." You said he's "inept and politically tone deaf." My point was it's nigh impossible to become a war hero if you're inept and a long-time Senator if you're politically tone deaf.

Hatred leads to blind lashing out and making blanket condemnations. That's not Progressive values at work.

NGU.

[ginnyinWI]

35. well said, CW

Everything I've seen Kerry doing since the election has only confirmed my faith in the guy. He's been even more bold and progressive than I would have expected!

[FreedomAngel82]

40. Yes

He hasn't disappeared anywhere and he's still fighting. :toast:

[Catamount]

44. I'm so glad you made these points in defence of Kerry!

You said it well!B-)

[politicasista]

19. I love Kerry bashing threads..

like this one. :mad: :grr: :puke: :puke:

[Pepperbelly]

20. I didn't bash Kerry ...

where did you get that?

[politicasista]

22. Not you Pepperbelly,

but some Kerry haters in the thread.

[Pepperbelly]

24. some people would bash ...

free money and soft-serve ice cream if they got a chance. Go figure. I guess we just have to accept them for what they are. I would hesitate to say that they are haters but I think perhaps outrage junkies is better.

[ArtVandaley]

47. haha

i got a chuckle off that one

[Still_Loves_John]

23. I think that post was more directed toward the replies

rather than the original post.

[Guaranteed]

34. This isn't even a Kerry bashing thread, although some may try

to turn it into one.

[LittleClarkie]

49. Or, as is often the case,

the same someone over and over and over.

Sadly, we can't even mention his name to some beating their tits in outrage that he should show backbone here and not in Ohio. Sort of an apple-y/orange-ish thing, I think. Two different situations, and Kerry's on his home turf for this fight.

But I do appreciate folks like you, Loony, who criticize Kerry when he deserves it, and praise him when he deserves it, and who don't hold hold over resentment from one to the next.

[fujiyama]

25. I am skeptical

as to how much this is true.

Even if it is, it may be that Reid is picking some ideas up from Kerry, which is fine.

After all, Reid himself has gone on the offensive lately, even going as far as calling Greenspan a political hack.

Too bad Kerry wasn't this aggressive during the campaign itself.

[KittyWampus]

26. Not Sure How Much Credence I Give This. Mediawhores Will Be Mediawhores

Also, maybe this was Kerry & Reid playing good cop/bad cop.

[NightOwwl]

27. If by "perpetual campaign"

he means 3000 word rebuttals in the form of daily press releases that put you to sleep before reaching the end of the paragraph...I'll stick with Reid's tactics.

[politicasista]

28. If Kerry would have been this way during the campaign

We would all be happy, now it's the opposite.:cry: :cry: :cry:

[ClassWarrior]

29. Somebody made this "Kerry-bashing" point several posts up in the thread...

...to use your own terminology.

NGU.

[Guaranteed]

33. I gain more respect for Kerry every day.

The man has figured out an awful lot in the past few years, as have I.

I guess we're all still learning. I'm proud of him, though.

[politicasista]

36. Hey BullGooseLoony

Do you allow private messages?

[Guaranteed]

42. Sure, go for it.

:)

[politicasista]

43. Thanks

Just did it. :-)

[CWebster]

45. Except, it's Reid making the moves

and Kerry? Guess he is still behind the scenes.

What "middle ground" is there on Social security ANYWAY?

[LittleClarkie]

50. They both were rather front and center last Friday though

with Clinton, Durbin and others at Pace University. So maybe it's having an effect.

Middle ground for Bush? I'm trying to think of what was said earlier, that when private accounts were shot down that he could suggest something else. That something else proposed by itself would have been unacceptable, but when proposed right after this fiasco it seems reasonable.

[Hidden Stillness]

46. I HOPE This is True!

Well, like a lot of people on this thread, I don't know if this story is true, but I HOPE it is! For so many incomprehensible years, the official Democrats have agreed with everything Republicans say, have not criticized them when they should have, have not fought for us on anything, and have seemed generally afraid of the rich bully. We have had to listen to them deny that they are liberals, chime in that they also love tax cuts for rich corporations when they don't pay their fair share anymore as it is, and even themselves use this incoherent, maddening claim that anyone who wants justice for ordinary people is waging a "class war"--against the rich pimp who owns everything, I guess! I'll never forget my confused shock when I first heard Gov. Mario Cuomo, among others, early '90s I guess it was, saying they agree with Republicans and that we should just downsize and reduce government, and turn averything over to the corporate world--because! Later, of course, we learned to identify the anti-Democratic DLC, but at the time, I didn't know who these people were.

Now, finally, some news that makes it seem as if the real Democrats may be back. It would not surprise me if John Kerry were not completely bitter, and the same for Al Gore, and for the same reason. You think there is a limit to these demonic Repubs; there isn't, and anyone paying any attention to these vicious and weird attack ads against AARP, now Sen. Byrd, etc., straight from Repub headquarters, must realize that these abusers are going completely insane, and never more dangerous. They just tried to cut us all off of the government program most reliable and secure for old people--and then what were we all, sooner or later, supposed to do? I have been very impressed with Harry Reid, and now I hope Kerry will join Sen. Boxer, Rep. John Conyers and other longtime fighters, and stop running away from these devils. It's not like they stop attacking you anyway. Let's fight THEM, and let's fight together. (Also, by the way, many great posts on this thread by ClassWarrior. This is what we need.)

[ginnyinWI]

48. yes, it's really good news!

I think up until this last campaign started, the Dems in Congress didn't know just how much support they had out here. They didn't want to be seen as obstructionists and didn't want to be labeled by those "powerful" repubs. But enough got to be enough! The other side will never give them any credit for working on a bi-partisan basis, but always demand more and more appeasement. And pretty soon the Dems have nothing left to differentiate them from the other side, and all of their principles are gone. Everyone saw the crowds supporting JK/JE, and read the blogs and email. They've been deluged with it since the election, I'm sure.

But we all learned something in this last election, and the smart ones in the leadership did too. They learned that they can say what they believe and get support. Dean did it, and Kerry did it. A lot of people don't realize just how strongly Kerry came out against Bush during the primaries. Regrettably, they got him to soft-pedal it a little too much during middle of the general election campaign. They let him out of his cage again at the end when the Clinton people got on board, and he was more outspoken again. That was the real Kerry. I believe he hates Bush with a passion, because of what Bush is doing to America, but he remains cool outwardly--good politician. Last Friday when he and the other Dem leaders were on the stump to save Social Security, he remarked that the last time he was there (Pace U., site of one of the debates), that it was a good thing he'd had a podium then, or he might have walked over and "decked" the guy he was debating (Shrub).

I'm expecting a lot of opposition from this "minority" party in the next few years! Our values are mainstream, and will be heard.